Longoria gets running in during spring training debut

In three innings, Evan Longoria went through the gamut of running, putting his sometimes balky hamstrings through a strenuous workout in his spring training debut.

Longoria went 2-for-2, knocking in a run and scoring another in the Tampa Bay Rays’ 7-2 rain-shortened victory over a Houston split-squad in front of a paltry crowd of 3,062 fans Monday at Charlotte Sports Park.

More importantly, the Rays’ third baseman got a chance to test his hamstrings, running ability in a variety of ways in his two trips to the plate.

On the first pitch he saw, Longoria blooped a single down the right field line. On a slow chopped to third off the bat of Leslie Anderson, Longoria thought he was going to have to break up a double play at second base. Instead, Houston third baseman Matt Dominguez opted to take the sure out at first.

From second, Longoria attempted to score on a single to left field by Shelley Duncan. The throw from Astros left fielder Brandon Barnes beat Longoria to the plate, and catcher Jason Jaramillo applied the tag.

Longoria said there was some confusion rounding third with third base coach Tom Foley.

“I wasn’t going to stop, because I was pretty much committed to going,” Longoria said. “I was looking at him the whole time waiting for him to put up his hands. Usually, he’s down the line more where he gives you a chance to look at him a little longer. He was right at the bag.

“He said he was yelling stop, but in the moment we can’t really hear anything. I was looking for hands, but I didn’t get ’em. So at that point, I just kept going. It would have been harder to stop than to keep going. We almost got a run out of it. The guy made a good throw.”

In his second at-bat in the second inning, Longoria ripped a shot through the hole between shortstop and third base. He ran hard down the line, thinking he would have to beat out an infield single.

“I definitely got my base running in today,” he said. “That’s always the way it works: The first day out, you always get tested. I’m glad I got it out of the way early. I felt great. I pretty much covered all ends of the spectrum as far as running goes.”

Longoria went through drills the early part of the long camp because of hamstring issues that limited him to 74 games last year. He also missed a few days when his girlfriend Jaime Edmondson gave birth to the couple’s first child.

“It was good to see him run a little bit,” Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. “The second one especially, because he had to run a farther distance. He had to maintain his gait, which was good. So all that stuff was good for him to get beyond that mentally, which is all good.”

“I don’t know how it looked, but it felt normal,” Longoria said. “It feels and looks like it feels 100 percent better than at the end of the season last year. That’s really all that matters. Just continue to work hard and progress and just be happy I’m healthy and on the field.”

The plan for the rest of the spring is preventative maintenance so he is ready for the start of the season.

“Setting a plan right now in spring as far as what is going to be smart and what I need to do to get ready for the season,” Longoria said. “The target is April 1. It’s not Feb. 30.

“I was just happy to be out there today and get tested and get through that stuff and get a couple of at-bats.”

With the team’s losses offensively with the departure of B.J. Upton, Jeff Keppinger and Carlos Pena, the Rays need Longoria to remain healthy for most if not all of the season if they are going to contend this season.

Maddon has said protecting Longoria in the batting order is a priority.

Of course, he would have to be healthy and in the lineup to be protected.

“Effort-wise, he was probably going at 80 percent today,” Maddon said. “There may have been more in the tank which he was withholding. I liked what he did today first time out. I don’t want him to do too much right now. Being able to see the whole thing work, I liked him running the farther distance.

“Everything worked out well.”

Longoria agreed.

“All in all, it was a good day,” he said.

Game stuff

Anderson knocked in his sixth and seventh runs of the spring with a two-run triple. He went 1-for-3 and has a .556 batting average this spring.

“Nice job really working great at-bats,” Maddon said. “I like his approach at the plate right now. He just looks stronger. He looks a lot more comfortable. His approach is really, really good. His legs are really active. His hands are really active. His confidence is way up.”

2B Ryan Roberts went 2-for-3 to raise his average to .500. He scored three times and knocked in two from the No. 2 spot in the order.

“He talked about trying to stay centered more and he has,” Maddon said of Roberts, who has five RBI. “He has driven the ball to the left- and right-center field gaps pretty consistently. He got jammed and hit the ball down the line. Balls to the middle of the field have been hit pretty well early on.”

At the invitation of Rays strength and conditioning coach Kevin Barr, a Sarasota resident, six members of the Wounded Warriors Project from the Tampa Bay area participated in drills with the Rays. … Former Ray OF Gabe Kapler, looking fit and trim as always, was in uniform and will be with the team for the next couple of days. … The Rays had their media training session with social media a big topic. … RH Jeff Niemann will start Wednesday for the Rays against Pittsburgh at renovated McKechnie Field in Bradenton. RH Jeremy Hellickson was scheduled to start, but now will pitch in relief.

Dennis Maffezzoli

Dennis Maffezzoli is the chief reporter for HT Preps. He can be reached by email or call (941) 315-0598.

Last modified: February 26, 2013
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